Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 137,287 Shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,303,992 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137,287 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up about 1.0% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $1,019,696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,208,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,070,698,000 after buying an additional 60,306 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 45.2% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $770,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 115.3% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 2.4% during the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 8,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,401,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LLY. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,250.00 to $1,190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $1,146.00 price target on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $970.00 price objective on Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $970.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,029.00 to $1,038.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.72.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of LLY opened at $826.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $841.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $837.54. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $711.40 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $783.98 billion, a PE ratio of 70.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.34.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $5.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.45 by ($0.13). Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 23.51% and a return on equity of 85.24%. Sell-side analysts predict that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 9th that permits the company to repurchase $15.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $818.24, for a total value of $818,240.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $4,778,521.60. The trade was a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.